Washington may be split by partisanship, but politics stop at the water’s edge, or so goes the old saw. That is, when it comes to using military force, lawmakers moves past simple Red/Blue distinctions and come together.

But in recent weeks, many lawmakers have voiced concern that the “water’s edge” tradition is now at risk when it comes to Syria, as President Barack Obama faces an uphill battle to gain support for a resolution to use force. In the House of Representatives, 105 of the 130 pledges to vote “no” on using force in Syria come from the Republicans, according to a USA Today tally. In the Senate, 17 of 22 “no” votes come from the GOP.

But how real is the bi-partisan tradition to begin with? When you look at the congressional votes on military force over the past 20 or so years, it’s a mixed picture. Indeed, politics tends to slow down at the water’s edge – and less so when U.S. security isn’t directly at issue.

And that’s especially true when you look at the House of Representatives.

Politics Counts went back to look at the House votes and public opinion data around votes to use military force in the 1991 Gulf War, the 1993 use of force supporting U.N. peacekeeping efforts in Somalia, the 1999 intervention in Kosovo, the vote to use military force in the days after Sept. 11, 2001 and the Iraq War vote of 2002. In each case, a majority in the party of the president supported action and the non-presidential party opposed – with the one exception of the vote just after Sept. 11, where there was uniform support.

House Votes on Use of Force – Broken out by Democrats and Republicans

President

Dem Aye

GOP Aye

Dem Nay

GOP Nay

1991 Gulf War

Bush (R)

86

163

177

3

1993 Somalia

Clinton (D)

238

3

9

170

1999 Kosovo

Clinton (D)

180

30

25

187

2001 Post-9/11

Bush (R)

204

213

1

0

2002 Iraq

Bush (R)

81

213

126

6

The poll numbers, from Gallup, don’t align perfectly in all cases. There weren’t polls conducted just before the votes or conflicts for each – and in Somalia the survey was done long after the intervention and resolution – but ultimately data indicate that polls don’t seem to alter the party divide too much, again, beyond the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Public Opinion on Use of Force

Favor

Oppose

1991 Gulf War

62%

32%

1999 Kosovo (taken shortly after war started)

54%

41%

2001 Post-9/11

82%

13%

2003 Iraq (taken day after war started)

76%

20%

Even though the 1991 Gulf War had strong support among the public, Democrats voted against it by a margin of 2 to 1, while Republican support in the House was almost universal. The numbers were closer in 2002 when question was going to war in Iraq and when 9/11 still weighed heavily on the political scene, but Democrats on the whole still opposed while Republicans almost universally supported.

The more telling cases, however, and the ones probably more analogous to the current situation with Syria, are the votes on Somalia and Kosovo. In both situations, U.S. security, economic or otherwise, was not framed as an issue and in both cases the vote was highly partisan – so much so that the Democratic and Republican votes were almost mirror images.

In 1993, then-President Bill Clinton was able to get a resolution supporting the use of force in U.N. peacekeeping operations in Somalia through the House, but with barely any Republican votes– three to be precise. In the end, the measure passed because the Democrats still had a large majority in the House at that time, an 82-seat advantage.

Flash forward to 1999, and the vote looked very similar in terms of its partisanship. The difference was in the makeup of the House itself, where the Republicans held a 12-seat advantage. The result of that vote was a tie – 213-213 – which meant the bill failed to pass.

There were some other differences with that bill. That House vote was taken after Mr. Clinton had already taken action in Kosovo, so congressional anger may have had some role in its failure, but still it’s hard to ignore the role of partisanship – 180 Democrats for, 187 Republicans against. Looking at those numbers, it seems likely the 1999 Kosovo measure would have passed if that Congress still had the 1993 partisan split.

For all the talk of politics stopping at the water’s edge, the trends from the last 20 years suggest that if a vote on Syria failed in 2013 that event would not mark a departure, it would be business as usual.

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.